Method and system for implementing automatic audio optimization for streaming services

ABSTRACT

Novel tools and techniques are provided for implementing media content streaming or playback, and, in particular, automatic audio optimization. In some embodiments, a computing system might receive user input indicating a request for presentation of media content, initiate database lookup in a database for audio parameter settings associated with the requested media content, and determine whether the database contains audio parameter settings specifically associated with the requested media content. If so, the computing system retrieves the audio parameter settings and automatically reconfigures an audio playback device(s) with the retrieved audio parameter settings. If not, the computing system determines whether the database contains audio parameter settings associated with a content category to which the requested media content belongs. If so, such audio parameter settings are retrieved and the audio playback device(s) are reconfigured with the audio parameter settings. If not, the audio playback device(s) are reconfigured with default audio parameter settings.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.62/410,269 (the “'269 application”), filed Oct. 19, 2016 by Michael D.Sprenger et al. (attorney docket no. 020370-031301US), entitled,“Automatic Audio Optimization for Streaming Services,” the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes.

This application may be related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/477,376 (the “'376 application”), filed on Apr. 3, 2017 by ZubinIngah et al. (attorney docket no. 020370-030900US), entitled, “Methodand System for Implementing Content Navigation or Selection UsingTouch-Based Input,” which claims priority to U.S. Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/403,843 (the “'843 application”), filed Oct. 4, 2016 byZubin Ingah et al. (attorney docket no. 020370-030901US), entitled,“Novel Mechanism for Content Selection Using Touchscreen or Touchpad,”the disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety for all purposes. This application may also be related toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/477,812 (the “'812 application”),filed on Apr. 3, 2017 by Michael D. Sprenger et al. (attorney docket no.020370-031900US), entitled, “Method and System for Implementing AdvancedAudio Shifting,” which claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser.No. 62/435,992 (the “'992 application”), filed Dec. 19, 2016 by MichaelD. Sprenger et al. (attorney docket no. 020370-031901US), entitled,“Advanced Audio Fading Mechanism,” the disclosures of both of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

The respective disclosures of these applications/patents (which thisdocument refers to collectively as the “Related applications”) areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates, in general, to methods, systems, andapparatuses for implementing media content streaming or playback, and,more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementingautomatic audio optimization (in some cases, for streaming services orthe like).

BACKGROUND

Conventional audio optimization systems today are controllable at theuser's end. Some conventional audio optimization systems enable theadjustment of audio parameters to room characteristics. This istypically achieved via a set of defined test signals that are outputthrough loudspeakers, received via one or more microphones, thenanalyzed and processed to compensate for certain deficiencies of theroom where the audio system is set up. Such compensation can alleviateroom characteristics such as reflections or excessive attenuation orboosting of certain frequencies to some extent. Other existingconventional audio optimization systems enable users to select among aset of pre-defined audio parameter profiles. Examples of such audioprofiles include, but are not limited to, “Concert Hall,” “Cathedral,”“Jazz Club,” “Rock Arena,” and/or the like. These typically adjustfrequency response and/or add effects such as reverb to emulate thetypical sound encountered in certain types of music venues. In thesecases, the adjustment of audio parameter or selection of audio profileis static and performed manually by the user, based on listeningpreferences. The inventors are not aware of an automated system thatprovides automatic parameter setting capabilities based on individualcontent or content category.

Hence, there is a need for more robust and scalable solutions forimplementing media content streaming or playback, and, moreparticularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementingautomatic audio optimization (in some cases, for streaming services, orthe like).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particularembodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions ofthe specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals areused to refer to similar components. In some instances, a sub-label isassociated with a reference numeral to denote one of multiple similarcomponents. When reference is made to a reference numeral withoutspecification to an existing sub-label, it is intended to refer to allsuch multiple similar components.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for implementingautomatic audio optimization, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating various embodimentsof a system that may be used for implementing automatic audiooptimization.

FIGS. 3A-3D are schematic diagrams illustrating various embodiments ofsystem configurations for implementing automatic audio optimization.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary lookup table that may beused for implementing automatic audio optimization, in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIGS. 4B-4D are graphical diagrams illustrating various exemplaryfrequency response adjustments that may be used when implementingautomatic audio optimization, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 5A-5D are flow diagrams illustrating a method for implementingautomatic audio optimization, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer or systemhardware architecture, in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a networked system of computers,computing systems, or system hardware architecture, which can be used inaccordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS Overview

Various embodiments provide tools and techniques for implementing mediacontent streaming or playback, and, more particularly, to methods,systems, and apparatuses for implementing automatic audio optimization(in some cases, for streaming services, or the like).

In various embodiments, a computing system might receive user input froma user indicating a request for media content for presentation to theuser by a media presentation device or the like. The computing systemmight initiate or perform database lookup in one or more databases foraudio parameter settings associated with the requested media content.According to some embodiments, the audio parameter settings mightinclude, but are not limited to, at least one of frequency responsesettings, reverb settings, time domain adjustment settings, settings forphase relationship between audio channels, or subwoofer cross-overfrequency settings, and/or the like, e.g., to account for multichannelsetups or the like. In some instances, the frequency response settingsmight include, without limitation, one of a linear frequency response, amidrange-enhanced frequency response, a bass-enhanced frequencyresponse, a treble-enhanced frequency response, or a combinationbass-enhanced and treble-enhanced frequency response, and/or the like.In some cases, the audio parameter settings are listed among a pluralityof audio parameter settings in one or more lookup tables in the one ormore databases. In some embodiments, the one or more lookup tables mightbe at least one of refreshed as part of updates for the mediapresentation device, refreshed using specific pushes to update dedicatedcontent, refreshed on a periodic basis using a scheduling mechanism,refreshed in response to power-up of the media presentation device, orrefreshed in response to a user request by the user to refresh, and/orthe like.

The computing system might determine whether the one or more databasescontain audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content. Based on a determination that the one or moredatabases contain audio parameter settings specifically associated withthe requested media content, the computing system might determinewhether the one or more databases contain audio parameter settingsspecifically for a plurality of portions of the requested media content(i.e., for media content that has multiple audio-distinct portions,including, but not limited to, dramatic scenes, action scenes, comedicscenes, and/or the like). If so, the computing system might retrieve,from the one or more databases, the audio parameter settingsspecifically for each of the plurality of portions of the requestedmedia content, and automatically reconfigure one or more audio playbackdevices with the retrieved audio parameter settings specifically foreach of the plurality of portions of the requested media content whenthe corresponding portion of the requested media content is beingpresented to the user by the media presentation device. If not, thecomputing system might retrieve, from the one or more databases, theaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content (as a whole or overall), and automatically reconfigure theone or more audio playback devices with the retrieved audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content.

Based on a determination that the one or more databases do not containaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content, the computing system might determine whether the one ormore databases contain audio parameter settings associated with acontent category to which the requested media content belongs. Based ona determination that the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings associated with a content category to which the requested mediacontent belongs, the computing system might retrieve, from the one ormore databases, the audio parameter settings associated with the contentcategory to which the requested media content belongs, and automaticallyreconfigure the one or more audio playback devices with the retrievedaudio parameter settings associated with the content category to whichthe requested media content belongs. According to some embodiments, thecontent category might include, without limitation, at least one of newsprogram, talk show, documentaries, action, drama, comedy, sciencefiction, fantasy, sports, children's programming, pop music, rock music,country music, techno music, metal music, classical music, orinstrumental music, and/or the like.

Based on a determination that the one or more databases do not containaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content and do not contain audio parameter settings associatedwith a content category to which the requested media content belongs,the computing system might select default audio parameter settings, andautomatically reconfigure the one or more audio playback devices withthe selected default audio parameter settings.

Merely by way of example, in some embodiments, automaticallyreconfiguring one or more audio playback devices with the retrievedaudio parameter settings might comprise the computing system extractingone or more audio portions of the requested media content, adjusting theretrieved audio parameter settings for each of the one or more audioportions of the requested media content, and inserting the resultant oneor more audio portions of the requested media content. According to someembodiments, the one or more audio playback devices might be eitherreconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settings prior topresentation of the requested media content by the media presentationdevice, or reconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settingsconcurrent with presentation of the requested media content by the mediapresentation device. In some embodiments, adjusting the retrieved audioparameter settings for each of the one or more audio portions of therequested media content might comprise the computing system identifyingthe one or more audio playback devices, determining audiocharacteristics of the identified one or more audio playback devices,and adjusting the retrieved audio parameter settings for each of the oneor more audio portions of the requested media content that take intoaccount the determined audio characteristics of the identified one ormore audio playback devices.

In some embodiments, the computing system and the media presentationdevice might be embodied in the same device. Alternatively, oradditionally, the media presentation device might comprise at least oneof the one or more audio playback devices. Merely by way of example, insome cases, the computing system comprises at least one of a set-top box(“STB”), a television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), a mediaplayback device, a media streaming device, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”)playback device, a digital video disc (“DVD”) playback device, a videoon demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform, a digital videorecording (“DVR”) platform, a gaming console, an audio playback device,a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio on demand (“AoD”)platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, a tablet computer,a laptop computer, a display device, a desktop computer, a servercomputer over a network, or a cloud-based computing system. According tosome embodiments, the one or more audio playback devices might compriseat least one of one or more external speakers, one or more headphones,one or more earbuds, or one or more integrated speakers, and/or thelike. The one or more integrated speakers might comprise speakers thatare integrated in at least one of a television, an Internet protocoltelevision (“IPTV”), a media playback device, a media streaming device,a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform, a gamingconsole, an audio playback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playbackdevice, an audio on demand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streamingplatform, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a displaydevice, or a desktop computer, and/or the like.

In the context of this disclosure, in some embodiments, the mediapresentation device or media play could be part of hardware or softwarefor a set top box, could be a separate hardware or software unit, orcould be run as software on a user's TV. Additionally, the term “mediaplayer” or “media presentation device” might refer to any software orhardware that is capable of decrypting and decoding a video and/or audiosignal, and that is capable of outputting these signals to a displaydevice and/or audio system in either an analog or digital format, orboth. Herein, TV can refer to any device capable of displaying videoimages, such as a television, monitor, projector, or the like. Hereinalso, the term “content” or “media content” can be applied either to avideo or audio channel (whether live, delayed, or stored) or toon-demand content (e.g., video-on-demand asset, individual audiocontent, or the like). Also in the context of this disclosure, the terms“channel” and “stream” may be interchangeable.

The following detailed description illustrates a few exemplaryembodiments in further detail to enable one of skill in the art topractice such embodiments. The described examples are provided forillustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention.

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to oneskilled in the art, however, that other embodiments of the presentinvention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Inother instances, certain structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form. Several embodiments are described herein, and whilevarious features are ascribed to different embodiments, it should beappreciated that the features described with respect to one embodimentmay be incorporated with other embodiments as well. By the same token,however, no single feature or features of any described embodimentshould be considered essential to every embodiment of the invention, asother embodiments of the invention may omit such features.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers used herein to expressquantities, dimensions, and so forth used should be understood as beingmodified in all instances by the term “about.” In this application, theuse of the singular includes the plural unless specifically statedotherwise, and use of the terms “and” and “or” means “and/or” unlessotherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as wellas other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considerednon-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompassboth elements and components comprising one unit and elements andcomponents that comprise more than one unit, unless specifically statedotherwise.

Various embodiments described herein, while embodying (in some cases)software products, computer-performed methods, and/or computer systems,represent tangible, concrete improvements to existing technologicalareas, including, without limitation, media content streaming ordownloading technology, media content optimization technology, audio(stream or signal) optimization technology, and/or the like. In otheraspects, certain embodiments, can improve the functioning of userequipment or systems themselves (e.g., media players, set-top boxes(“STBs”), media content streaming or downloading systems, audio playbackdevices, etc.), for example, by receiving, with a computing system, userinput indicating a request for presentation of media content;initiating, with the computing system, database lookup in a database foraudio parameter settings associated with the requested media content;determining, with the computing system, whether the database containsaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content; if so, retrieving, with the computing system, the audioparameter settings and automatically reconfiguring, with the computingsystem, an audio playback device(s) with the retrieved audio parametersettings; if not, determining, with the computing system, whether thedatabase contains audio parameter settings associated with a contentcategory to which the requested media content belongs; if so,retrieving, with the computing system, such audio parameter settings areretrieved and automatically reconfiguring, with the computing system,the audio playback device(s) with the audio parameter settings; and ifnot, retrieving, with the computing system, default audio parametersettings, and automatically reconfiguring, with the computing system,the audio playback device(s) with the default audio parameter settings,and/or the like.

In particular, to the extent any abstract concepts are present in thevarious embodiments, those concepts can be implemented as describedherein by devices, software, systems, and methods that involve specificnovel functionality (e.g., steps or operations), such as, receiving,with a computing system, user input indicating a request forpresentation of media content; initiating, with the computing system,database lookup in a database for audio parameter settings associatedwith the requested media content; determining, with the computingsystem, whether the database contains audio parameter settingsspecifically associated with the requested media content; if so,retrieving, with the computing system, the audio parameter settings andautomatically reconfiguring, with the computing system, an audioplayback device(s) with the retrieved audio parameter settings; if not,determining, with the computing system, whether the database containsaudio parameter settings associated with a content category to which therequested media content belongs; if so, retrieving, with the computingsystem, such audio parameter settings are retrieved and automaticallyreconfiguring, with the computing system, the audio playback device(s)with the audio parameter settings; and if not, retrieving, with thecomputing system, default audio parameter settings, and automaticallyreconfiguring, with the computing system, the audio playback device(s)with the default audio parameter settings, and/or the like, to name afew examples, that extend beyond mere conventional computer processingoperations. These functionalities can produce tangible results outsideof the implementing computer system, including, merely by way ofexample, optimized presentation of the audio portion of media content tothe user thus providing for improved audio playback to the user, and/orthe like, at least some of which may be observed or measured bycustomers and/or service providers.

In an aspect, a method might comprise receiving, with a computing systemand from a user, user input indicating a request for media content forpresentation to the user by a media presentation device; initiating,with the computing system, database lookup in one or more databases foraudio parameter settings associated with the requested media content;and determining, with the computing system, whether the one or moredatabases contain audio parameter settings specifically associated withthe requested media content. Method might further comprise, based on adetermination that the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content,retrieving, with the computing system and from the one or moredatabases, the audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content, and automatically reconfiguring, with thecomputing system, one or more audio playback devices with the retrievedaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content.

In some embodiments, the method might comprise, based on a determinationthat the one or more databases do not contain audio parameter settingsspecifically associated with the requested media content, determining,with the computing system, whether the one or more databases containaudio parameter settings associated with a content category to which therequested media content belongs. The method might further comprise,based on a determination that the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings associated with a content category to which therequested media content belongs, retrieving, with the computing systemand from the one or more databases, the audio parameter settingsassociated with the content category to which the requested mediacontent belongs, and automatically reconfiguring, with the computingsystem, the one or more audio playback devices with the retrieved audioparameter settings associated with the content category to which therequested media content belongs.

According to some embodiments, based on a determination that the one ormore databases do not contain audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content and do not contain audioparameter settings associated with a content category to which therequested media content belongs, selecting, with the computing system,default audio parameter settings, and automatically reconfiguring, withthe computing system, the one or more audio playback devices with theselected default audio parameter settings. In some cases, the contentcategory might comprise at least one of news program, talk show,documentaries, action, drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, sports,children's programming, pop music, rock music, country music, technomusic, metal music, classical music, or instrumental music, and/or thelike.

In some embodiments, determining whether the one or more databasescontain audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content might comprise determining, with the computingsystem, whether the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings specifically for a plurality of portions of the requested mediacontent. Retrieving the audio parameter settings specifically associatedwith the requested media content and automatically reconfiguring the oneor more audio playback devices with the retrieved audio parametersettings might comprise, based on a determination that the one or moredatabases contain audio parameter settings specifically for a pluralityof portions of the requested media content, retrieving, with thecomputing system and from the one or more databases, the audio parametersettings specifically for each of the plurality of portions of therequested media content, and automatically reconfiguring, with thecomputing system, the one or more audio playback devices with theretrieved audio parameter settings for each portion of the plurality ofportions of the requested media content when the corresponding portionof the requested media content is being presented to the user by themedia presentation device.

In some cases, the one or more audio playback devices might be one ofreconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settings prior topresentation of the requested media content by the media presentationdevice, or reconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settingsconcurrent with presentation of the requested media content by the mediapresentation device. Merely by way of example, the one or more audioplayback devices might comprise at least one of one or more externalspeakers, one or more headphones, one or more earbuds, or one or moreintegrated speakers, and/or the like. The one or more integratedspeakers might comprise speakers that are integrated in at least one ofa television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), a media playbackdevice, a media streaming device, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, avideo streaming platform, a gaming console, an audio playback device, acompact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio on demand (“AoD”)platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, a tablet computer,a laptop computer, a display device, or a desktop computer, and/or thelike.

In some instances, the computing system might comprise at least one of aset-top box (“STB”), a television, an Internet protocol television(“IPTV”), a media playback device, a media streaming device, a Blu-raydisc (“BD”) playback device, a digital video disc (“DVD”) playbackdevice, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform,a digital video recording (“DVR”) platform, a gaming console, an audioplayback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio ondemand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a display device, a desktopcomputer, a server computer over a network, or a cloud-based computingsystem, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, the audio parameter settings mightcomprise at least one of frequency response settings, reverb settings,time domain adjustment settings, settings for phase relationship betweenaudio channels, or subwoofer cross-over frequency settings, and/or thelike, e.g., to account for multichannel setups or the like. In somecases, the frequency response settings might comprise one of a linearfrequency response, a midrange-enhanced frequency response, abass-enhanced frequency response, a treble-enhanced frequency response,or a combination base-enhanced and treble-enhanced frequency response,and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the audio parameter settings might be listed amonga plurality of audio parameter settings in one or more lookup tables inthe one or more databases. In some instances, the one or more lookuptables might be at least one of refreshed as part of updates for themedia presentation device, refreshed using specific pushes to updatededicated content, refreshed during updates of content guides such aselectronic program guides (“EPG”), refreshed on a periodic basis using ascheduling mechanism, refreshed in response to power-up of the mediapresentation device, or refreshed in response to a user request by theuser to refresh, and/or the like. Merely by way of example, in somecases, the one or more databases might comprise at least one of one ormore network-based databases, one or more distributed computingdatabases, or one or more local databases, and/or the like. The one ormore local databases might be integrated within at least one of aset-top box (“STB”), a television, an Internet protocol television(“IPTV”), a media playback device, a media streaming device, a Blu-raydisc (“BD”) playback device, a digital video disc (“DVD”) playbackdevice, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform,a digital video recording (“DVR”) platform, a gaming console, an audioplayback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio ondemand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a display device, or a desktopcomputer, and/or the like.

According to some embodiments, automatically reconfiguring the one ormore audio playback devices with the retrieved audio parameter settingsmight comprise: extracting, with the computing system, one or more audioportions of the requested media content; adjusting, with the computingsystem, the retrieved audio parameter settings for each of the one ormore audio portions of the requested media content; and inserting, withthe computing system, the resultant one or more audio portions of therequested media content. In some cases, adjusting the retrieved audioparameter settings for each of the one or more audio portions of therequested media content might comprise: identifying, with the computingsystem, the one or more audio playback devices; determining, with thecomputing system, audio characteristics of the identified one or moreaudio playback devices and associated transducers; and adjusting, withthe computing system, the retrieved audio parameter settings for each ofthe one or more audio portions of the requested media content that takeinto account the determined audio characteristics of the identified oneor more audio playback devices and associated transducers.

In another aspect, an apparatus might comprise at least one processorand a non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled tothe at least one processor. The non-transitory computer readable mediummight have stored thereon computer software comprising a set ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causesthe apparatus to: receive, from a user, user input indicating a requestfor media content for presentation to the user by a media presentationdevice; initiate database lookup in one or more databases for audioparameter settings associated with the requested media content;determine whether the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content; and,based on a determination that the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent, retrieve, from the one or more databases, the audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content, andautomatically reconfigure one or more audio playback devices with theretrieved audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content.

According to some embodiments, the set of instructions, when executed bythe at least one processor, might further cause the apparatus to: basedon a determination that the one or more databases do not contain audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent, determine whether the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings associated with a content category to which therequested media content belongs; and based on a determination that theone or more databases contain audio parameter settings associated with acontent category to which the requested media content belongs, retrieve,from the one or more databases, the audio parameter settings associatedwith the content category to which the requested media content belongs,and automatically reconfigure the one or more audio playback deviceswith the retrieved audio parameter settings associated with the contentcategory to which the requested media content belongs.

In some instances, the set of instructions, when executed by the atleast one processor, might further cause the apparatus to, based on adetermination that the one or more databases do not contain audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent and do not contain audio parameter settings associated with acontent category to which the requested media content belongs, selectdefault audio parameter settings, and automatically reconfigure the oneor more audio playback devices with the selected default audio parametersettings.

In some cases, the apparatus might comprise at least one of a set-topbox (“STB”), a television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), amedia playback device, a media streaming device, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”)playback device, a digital video disc (“DVD”) playback device, a videoon demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform, a digital videorecording (“DVR”) platform, a gaming console, an audio playback device,a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio on demand (“AoD”)platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, a tablet computer,a laptop computer, a display device, a desktop computer, a servercomputer over a network, or a cloud-based computing system, and/or thelike.

In yet another aspect, a system might comprise a computing system, amedia presentation system, and one or more audio playback devices. Thecomputing system might comprise at least one first processor and a firstnon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one first processor. The first non-transitory computer readablemedium might have stored thereon computer software comprising a firstset of instructions that, when executed by the at least one firstprocessor, causes the computing system to: receive, from a user, userinput indicating a request for media content for presentation to theuser; initiate database lookup in one or more databases for audioparameter settings associated with the requested media content;determine whether the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content; basedon a determination that the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent, retrieve, from the one or more databases, the audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content, andautomatically reconfigure one or more audio playback devices with theretrieved audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content; and send the requested media content and theaudio parameter settings to a media presentation system.

The media presentation system might comprise at least one secondprocessor and a second non-transitory computer readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one second processor. The secondnon-transitory computer readable medium might have stored thereoncomputer software comprising a second set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one second processor, causes the mediapresentation system to: receive the requested media content and theaudio parameter settings; present the requested media content to theuser; and send audio content corresponding to the requested mediacontent and the audio parameter settings to the one or more audioplayback devices.

The one or more audio playback devices might each comprise at least onethird processor and a third non-transitory computer readable mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one third processor. The thirdnon-transitory computer readable medium might have stored thereoncomputer software comprising a third set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one third processor, causes each audio playbackdevice to: receive the audio content corresponding to the requestedmedia content and the audio parameter settings; and present the audiocontent corresponding to the requested media content, as adjusted by theaudio parameter settings.

According to some embodiments, the computing system and the mediapresentation device are embodied in the same device. In some cases, themedia presentation device might comprise at least one of the one or moreaudio playback devices. In some embodiments, the computing system mightcomprise at least one of a set-top box (“STB”), a television, anInternet protocol television (“IPTV”), a media playback device, a mediastreaming device, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”) playback device, a digital videodisc (“DVD”) playback device, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, avideo streaming platform, a digital video recording (“DVR”) platform, agaming console, an audio playback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playbackdevice, an audio on demand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streamingplatform, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a displaydevice, a desktop computer, a server computer over a network, or acloud-based computing system, and/or the like.

Merely by way of example, in some instances, the one or more audioplayback devices might comprise at least one of one or more externalspeakers, one or more headphones, one or more earbuds, or one or moreintegrated speakers, and/or the like. The one or more integratedspeakers might comprise speakers that are integrated in at least one ofa television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), a media playbackdevice, a media streaming device, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, avideo streaming platform, a gaming console, an audio playback device, acompact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio on demand (“AoD”)platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, a tablet computer,a laptop computer, a display device, or a desktop computer, and/or thelike.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the embodimentsdiscussed without departing from the scope of the invention. Forexample, while the embodiments described above refer to particularfeatures, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments havingdifferent combination of features and embodiments that do not includeall of the above described features.

Specific Exemplary Embodiments

We now turn to the embodiments as illustrated by the drawings. FIGS. 1-7illustrate some of the features of the method, system, and apparatus forimplementing media content streaming or playback, and, moreparticularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementingautomatic audio optimization (in some cases, for streaming services orthe like), as referred to above. The methods, systems, and apparatusesillustrated by FIGS. 1-7 refer to examples of different embodiments thatinclude various components and steps, which can be consideredalternatives or which can be used in conjunction with one another in thevarious embodiments. The description of the illustrated methods,systems, and apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1-7 is provided for purposes ofillustration and should not be considered to limit the scope of thedifferent embodiments.

With reference to the figures, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagramillustrating a system 100 for implementing automatic audio optimization,in accordance with various embodiments.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 1, system 100 might comprise acomputing system 105 a and a data store or database 110 a that is localto the computing system 105 a. In some cases, the database 110 a mightbe external, yet communicatively coupled, to the computing system 105 a.In other cases, the database 110 a might be integrated within thecomputing system 105 a. System 100, according to some embodiments, mightfurther comprise one or more media presentation devices 115(collectively, “media presentation devices 115” or the like), whichmight each include a display screen 115 a or might be communicativelycoupled to an external display screen(s) 115 b, and one or more userdevices 120 (collectively, “user devices 120” or the like), which, insome cases, might each include a touchscreen display or touchscreendisplay device 120 a or some other user interface device, and/or thelike. In some cases, system 100 might further, or optionally, compriseone or more (external) audio playback devices 125 a-125 n (collectively,“audio playback devices 125” or “speakers 125” or the like), and/or thelike.

Each of the one or more media presentation devices 115 and/or the one ormore user devices 120 might communicatively couple to the computingsystem 105 a, and/or to each other, either via wireless connectionand/or via wired connection. The one or more user devices 120 might eachreceive user input from a user (in various embodiments, receiving touchinput from the user via the touchscreen display 120 a and/or receivingother user input from the user via another type(s) of user interfacedevice, or the like), and might each relay the user input to thecomputing system 105 a and/or the media presentation device 115,according to some embodiments. In some cases, the user devices 120 mightinclude, without limitation, at least one of a dedicated remote controldevice (with or without touchscreen display) that is associated with thecomputing system 105 a and/or the media presentation device 115, auniversal remote control device (with or without touchscreen display)that has been paired, synced, or synchronized with the computing system105 a and/or the media presentation device 115, a tablet computer thathas been paired, synced, or synchronized with the computing system 105 aand/or the media presentation device 115, a smart phone that has beenpaired, synced, or synchronized with the computing system 105 a and/orthe media presentation device 115, or other portable device (with orwithout touchscreen display) that has been paired, synced, orsynchronized with the computing system 105 a and/or the mediapresentation device 115, and/or the like. In some cases, the computingsystem 105 a, the database 110 a, the one or more media presentationdevices 115 (including the display screen(s) 115 a or 115 b, and/or theaudio playback device(s) 125, etc.), and the user device(s) 120 may bedisposed within a customer premises 130, which might be one of a singlefamily house, a multi-dwelling unit (“MDU”) within a multi-dwellingcomplex (including, but not limited to, an apartment building, anapartment complex, a condominium complex, a townhouse complex, amixed-use building, etc.), a motel, an inn, a hotel, an office buildingor complex, a commercial building or complex, an industrial building orcomplex, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the computing system 105 a might comprise one of aprocessor on the media presentation device running a softwareapplication (“app”), a processor on the user device running an app, amedia player, and/or the like. In some cases, the media presentationdevice 115 might include, but is not limited to, one of a set-top box(“STB”), a media player, a gaming console, a server computer, a desktopcomputer, or a laptop computer, and/or the like. The media player mightinclude, without limitation, one of a digital versatile disc or digitalvideo disc (“DVD”) player, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”) player, a video ondemand (“VoD”) platform, a digital video recording (“DVR”) device, astreaming video player, an audio playback device, a compact disc (“CD”)playback device, an audio on demand (“AoD”) platform, a streaming musicplayer, or a streaming game player, and/or the like. In some instances,the one or more media presentation devices 115 might include, but arenot limited to, at least one of one or more monitors (e.g., computermonitor or laptop monitor, or the like), one or more television sets(e.g., smart television sets, Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), orother television sets, or the like), and/or the like. In some cases, theuser device 120 might include, without limitation, one of a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, a mobilephone, a personal digital assistant, a remote control device, or aportable gaming device, and/or the like.

System 100 might further comprise one or more media content sources orservers 135 and corresponding databases 140 that might communicativelycouple to the computing system 105 a via one or more networks 145 (andin some cases, via one or more telecommunications relay systems 150,which might include, without limitation, one or more wireless networkinterfaces (e.g., wireless modems, wireless access points, and thelike), one or more towers, one or more satellites, and/or the like). Thelightning bolt symbols are used to denote wireless communicationsbetween the one or more telecommunications relay systems 150 and thecomputing system 105 a, between the one or more telecommunications relaysystems 150 and each of at least one of the user devices 120, betweenthe computing system 105 a and each of at least one of the mediapresentation devices 115, between the computing system 105 a and each ofat least one of the user devices 120, between the media presentationdevice 115 and the user devices 120, between the computing system 105 aand each of the one or more audio playback devices 125 a-125 n, betweenthe media presentation device 115 and each of at least one of the one ormore audio playback devices 125 a-125 n, between the user devices 120and each of at least one of the one or more audio playback devices 125a-125 n, and/or the like. According to some embodiments, alternative oradditional to the computing system 105 a and corresponding database 110a being disposed within customer premises 130, system 100 might compriseremote computing system 105 b and corresponding database(s) 110 b thatcommunicatively couple with the one or more media presentation devices115 and/or with the one or more user devices 120 in the customerpremises via the one or more networks 145 (and in some cases, via theone or more telecommunications relay systems 150). According to someembodiments, remote computing system 105 b might comprise at least oneof a server computer over a network, a cloud-based computing system overa network, and/or the like.

In operation, computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/or media presentationdevice 115) might receive user input from a user indicating a requestfor media content for presentation to the user by the media presentationdevice 115 or the like. The computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/ormedia presentation device 115) might initiate or perform database lookupin one or more databases 110 a, 110 b, 140, and/or 155 for audioparameter settings associated with the requested media content.According to some embodiments, the audio parameter settings mightinclude, but are not limited to, at least one of frequency responsesettings, reverb settings, time domain adjustment settings, settings forphase relationship between audio channels, or subwoofer cross-overfrequency settings, and/or the like, e.g., to account for multichannelsetups or the like. In some instances, the frequency response settingsmight include, without limitation, one of a linear frequency response, amidrange-enhanced frequency response, a bass-enhanced frequencyresponse, a treble-enhanced frequency response, or a combinationbase-enhanced and treble-enhanced frequency response, and/or the like.In some cases, the audio parameter settings are listed among a pluralityof audio parameter settings in one or more lookup tables in the one ormore databases. In some embodiments, the one or more lookup tables mightbe at least one of refreshed as part of updates for the mediapresentation device 115, refreshed using specific pushes to updatededicated content, refreshed on a periodic basis using a schedulingmechanism, refreshed in response to power-up of the media presentationdevice, or refreshed in response to a user request by the user torefresh, and/or the like.

The computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/or media presentation device115) might determine whether the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent. Based on a determination that the one or more databases containaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content, the computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/or mediapresentation device 115) might determine whether the one or moredatabases contain audio parameter settings specifically for a pluralityof portions of the requested media content (i.e., for media content thathas multiple audio-distinct portions, including, but not limited to,dramatic scenes, action scenes, comedic scenes, and/or the like). If so,the computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/or media presentation device115) might retrieve, from the one or more databases, the audio parametersettings specifically for each of the plurality of portions of therequested media content, and automatically reconfigure one or more audioplayback devices 125 a-125 n with the retrieved audio parameter settingsspecifically for each of the plurality of portions of the requestedmedia content when the corresponding portion of the requested mediacontent is being presented to the user by the media presentation device.If not, the computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/or media presentationdevice 115) might retrieve, from the one or more databases, the audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent (as a whole or overall), and automatically reconfigure the oneor more audio playback devices 125 a-125 n with the retrieved audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent.

Based on a determination that the one or more databases do not containaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content, the computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/or mediapresentation device 115) might determine whether the one or moredatabases contain audio parameter settings associated with a contentcategory to which the requested media content belongs. Based on adetermination that the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings associated with a content category to which the requested mediacontent belongs, the computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/or mediapresentation device 115) might retrieve, from the one or more databases,the audio parameter settings associated with the content category towhich the requested media content belongs, and automatically reconfigurethe one or more audio playback devices with the retrieved audioparameter settings associated with the content category to which therequested media content belongs. According to some embodiments, thecontent category might include, without limitation, at least one of newsprogram, talk show, documentaries, action, drama, comedy, sciencefiction, fantasy, sports, children's programming, pop music, rock music,country music, techno music, metal music, classical music, orinstrumental music, and/or the like.

Based on a determination that the one or more databases do not containaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content and do not contain audio parameter settings associatedwith a content category to which the requested media content belongs,the computing system 105 a or 105 b (and/or media presentation device115) might select default audio parameter settings, and automaticallyreconfigure the one or more audio playback devices with the selecteddefault audio parameter settings.

Merely by way of example, in some embodiments, automaticallyreconfiguring one or more audio playback devices 125 a-125 n with theretrieved audio parameter settings might comprise the computing system105 a or 105 b (and/or media presentation device 115) extracting one ormore audio portions of the requested media content, adjusting theretrieved audio parameter settings for each of the one or more audioportions of the requested media content, and inserting the resultant oneor more audio portions of the requested media content. According to someembodiments, the one or more audio playback devices 125 a-125 n might beeither reconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settings prior topresentation of the requested media content by the media presentationdevice 115, or reconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settingsconcurrent with presentation of the requested media content by the mediapresentation device 115. In some embodiments, adjusting the retrievedaudio parameter settings for each of the one or more audio portions ofthe requested media content might comprise the computing system 105 a or105 b (and/or media presentation device 115) identifying the one or moreaudio playback devices, determining audio characteristics of theidentified one or more audio playback devices 125 a-125 n, and adjustingthe retrieved audio parameter settings for each of the one or more audioportions of the requested media content that take into account thedetermined audio characteristics of the identified one or more audioplayback devices 125 a-125 n.

These and other functions of the system 100 (and its components) aredescribed in greater detail below with respect to FIGS. 2-5.

FIGS. 2A and 2B (collectively, “FIG. 2”) are schematic diagramsillustrating various embodiments 200 and 200′ of a system that may beused for implementing automatic audio optimization.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 2A, according to someembodiments, system 200 might comprise a computing system 205 (whichmight correspond to computing system 105 a or 105 b of system 100 ofFIG. 1, or the like). Computing system 205, in some cases, mightcomprise one or more processors 210, one or more data stores or datastorage devices 215, and one or more communications transceivers 220,and/or the like. System 200 might further comprise one or more mediapresentation devices 225 (which might correspond to the one or moremedia presentation devices 115 of system 100 of FIG. 1, or the like),each of which might include, without limitation, one or more processors230, one or more data stores 235, one or more communicationstransceivers 240, one or more (built-in) display screens 245 a(optional) and/or one or more (external) display screens 245 b(optional), and (optionally) one or more (built-in) speakers 250, and/orthe like. System 200 might further comprise one or more user devices 255(which might correspond to the one or more user devices 120 of system100 of FIG. 1, or the like), each of which might include, but are notlimited to, one or more processors 260, one or more data stores 265, oneor more communications transceivers 270, one or more user interfacedevices 275 (e.g., touchscreen display(s) or other user interfacedevice(s)), and (optionally) one or more (built-in) speakers 280, and/orthe like. In some cases, system 200 might further comprise one or moreexternal speakers 285 (which might communicatively couple eitherwirelessly or in a wired manner with at least one of the mediapresentation devices 225 (in some instances, via communicationstransceivers 240)) and one or more external speakers 290 (which mightcommunicatively couple either wirelessly or in a wired manner with atleast one of the user devices 255 (in some instances, via communicationstransceivers 270)), and/or the like. The computing system 205 mightcommunicatively couple (via wireless or wired connection) with each ofthe media presentation devices 225 (in some cases, via communicationstransceivers 240) and with each of the user devices 255 (in some cases,via communications transceivers 270).

The computing system 205, the one or more media presentation devices225, the one or more user devices 255, and the one or more (internal)speakers 250 or 280 and the one or more (external) speakers 285 or 290of system 200 in FIG. 2A are otherwise similar, if not identical, to thecomputing system 105 a or 105 b, the one or more media presentationdevices 115, the one or more user devices 120, and the one or more audioplayback devices 125 a-125 n, respectively, of system 100 in FIG. 1, andthe descriptions of these components of system 100 are applicable to thecorresponding components of system 200, respectively.

Turning to the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 2B, in some embodiments,system 200′ might be similar to system 200 of FIG. 2A, except thatsystem 200′ might function without the use of a computing system 205 toperform processing functions and to communicate with each of the mediapresentation device(s) 225 and the user device(s) 255. Rather, system200′ might comprise the one or more media presentation devices 225(which might correspond to the one or more media presentation devices115 of system 100 of FIG. 1, or the like), each of which might include,without limitation, one or more processors 230, one or more data stores235, one or more communications transceivers 240, one or more (built-in)display screens 245 a (optional) and/or one or more (external) displayscreens 245 b (optional), and (optionally) one or more (built-in)speakers 250, and/or the like. System 200′ might further comprise theone or more user devices 255 (which might correspond to the one or moreuser devices 120 of system 100 of FIG. 1, or the like), each of whichmight include, but are not limited to, one or more processors 260, oneor more data stores 265, one or more communications transceivers 270,one or more user interface devices 275 (e.g., touchscreen display(s) orother user interface device(s)), and (optionally) one or more (built-in)speakers 280, and/or the like. In some cases, system 200′ might furthercomprise the one or more external speakers 285 (which mightcommunicatively couple either wirelessly or in a wired manner with atleast one of the media presentation devices 225 (in some instances, viacommunications transceivers 240)) and the one or more external speakers290 (which might communicatively couple either wirelessly or in a wiredmanner with at least one of the user devices 255 (in some instances, viacommunications transceivers 270)), and/or the like. At least one mediapresentation device 225 might communicatively couple (either viawireless or wired connection) with at least one user device 255 (in somecases, via communications transceivers 240 and 270).

The one or more media presentation devices 225, the one or more userdevices 255, and the one or more (internal) speakers 250 or 280 and theone or more (external) speakers 285 or 290 of system 200′ in FIG. 2B areotherwise similar, if not identical, to the one or more mediapresentation devices 225, the one or more user devices 255, and the oneor more (internal) speakers 250 or 280 and the one or more (external)speakers 285 or 290, respectively, of system 200 in FIG. 2A, and thedescriptions of these components of system 200 are applicable to thecorresponding components of system 200′, respectively.

FIGS. 3A-3D (collectively, “FIG. 3”) are schematic diagrams illustratingvarious embodiments 300, 300′, 300″, and 300″ of system configurationsfor implementing automatic audio optimization.

With reference to FIG. 3A, system 300 might comprise a set-top box(“STB”) 305 (or other media presentation device, or the like) and adisplay device 310 (e.g., a television, an Internet protocol television(“IPTV”), a monitor, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, or other display device, etc.) that has one or more built-inaudio playback devices (e.g., integrated speakers, or the like). The STBor media player 305 extracts the audio portion(s) from the media contentstream (e.g., video and audio stream) or signal received from thecontent provider, adjusts the audio characteristics of the audioportion(s) of the media content stream according to the protocols andtechniques described herein, and inserts the resultant audio portion(s)back into the stream or signal prior to the reconstructed stream orsignal being sent to the display device 310. In some embodiments, ahigh-definition multimedia interface (“HDMI”) link or cable (or similartype of cable) may be used between the STB or media player 305 and thedisplay device 310.

Referring to FIG. 3B, system 300′ might comprise a set-top box (“STB”)305 (or other media presentation device, or the like), a display device310 (e.g., a television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), amonitor, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or otherdisplay device, etc.), and one or more soundbars or other external audioplayback devices 315 (e.g., external speakers, or the like). The STB ormedia player 305 extracts the audio portion(s) from the media contentstream (e.g., video and audio stream) or signal received from thecontent provider, adjusts the audio characteristics of the audioportion(s) of the media content stream according to the protocols andtechniques described herein, and inserts the resultant audio portion(s)back into the stream or signal prior to the reconstructed stream orsignal being sent to the display device 310. In some embodiments, ahigh-definition multimedia interface (“HDMI”) link or cable may be usedbetween the STB or media player 305 and the display device 310. Fordisplay devices 310 with integrated audio playback devices (like in thedisplay device 310 of FIG. 3A), the resultant audio portion(s) may bepresented via the integrated audio playback devices in the displaydevice 310. Alternatively or additionally, for display devices 310without integrated audio playback devices (or even for display devices310 with integrated audio playback devices), the STB or media player 305might further identify the one or more soundbars or other external audioplayback devices 315, determine audio characteristics of the identifiedone or more soundbars or other external audio playback devices 315, andadjust the retrieved audio parameter settings for each of the audioportion(s) of the media content stream or signal that take into accountthe determined audio characteristics of the identified one or moresoundbars or other external audio playback devices 315.

Turning to FIG. 3C, system 300″ might comprise a set-top box (“STB”) 305(or other media presentation device, or the like), a display device 310(e.g., a television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), amonitor, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or otherdisplay device, etc.), and a plurality of external audio playbackdevices 315′ (e.g., 2-channel or multichannel audio playback devices, orthe like), and audio/video (“A/V”) equipment 320. The STB or mediaplayer 305 receives the media content stream (e.g., video and audiostream) or signal received from the content provider and sends the mediacontent stream or signal to the A/V equipment 320. The A/V equipment 320extracts the audio portion(s) from the media content stream (e.g., videoand audio stream) or signal received from the STB or media player 305,adjusts the audio characteristics of the audio portion(s) of the mediacontent stream according to the protocols and techniques describedherein, sends the audio portion(s) of the media content stream or signalto the plurality of external audio playback devices 315′, and sends thevideo portion(s) of the media content stream to the display device 310.In some embodiments, a high-definition multimedia interface (“HDMI”)link or cable (or similar type of cable) may be used between the STB ormedia player 305 and the A/V equipment 320, and between the A/Vequipment 320 and the display device 310. In some cases, wired audiocables (e.g., S/PDIF cable, analog cable, or the like), optical audiocables (e.g., TOSLINK cable, S/PDIF cable, or the like), and/or HDMIcables, or the like, may be used between the A/V equipment 320 and theplurality of external audio playback devices 315′. According to someembodiments, the A/V equipment 320 might further identify each of theplurality of external audio playback devices 315′, determine audiocharacteristics of the identified plurality of external audio playbackdevices 315′, and adjust the retrieved audio parameter settings for eachof the audio portion(s) of the media content stream or signal that takeinto account the determined audio characteristics of the identifiedplurality of external audio playback devices 315′.

With reference to FIG. 3D, system 300″ might comprise a set-top box(“STB”) 305 (or other media presentation device, or the like), a displaydevice 310 (e.g., a television, an Internet protocol television(“IPTV”), a monitor, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, or other display device, etc.), and a plurality of externalaudio playback devices 315′ (e.g., 2-channel or multichannel audioplayback devices, or the like), and audio/video (“A/V”) equipment 320.The STB or media player 305 receives the media content stream (e.g.,video and audio stream) or signal received from the content provider andsends the media content stream or signal to the A/V equipment 320. TheA/V equipment 320 extracts the audio portion(s) from the media contentstream (e.g., video and audio stream) or signal received from the STB ormedia player 305, adjusts the audio characteristics of the audioportion(s) of the media content stream according to the protocols andtechniques described herein, sends the audio portion(s) of the mediacontent stream or signal to the plurality of external audio playbackdevices 315′, inserts the resultant audio portion(s) back into thestream or signal prior to the reconstructed stream or signal being sentto the display device 310, and sends the reconstructed media contentstream or signal to the display device 310. In some embodiments, ahigh-definition multimedia interface (“HDMI”) link or cable (or similartype of cable) may be used between the STB or media player 305 and theA/V equipment 320, and between the A/V equipment 320 and the displaydevice 310. In some cases, wired audio cables (e.g., S/PDIF cable,analog cable, or the like), optical audio cables (e.g., TOSLINK cable,S/PDIF cable, or the like), and/or HDMI cables, or the like, may be usedbetween the A/V equipment 320 and the plurality of external audioplayback devices 315′. According to some embodiments, the A/V equipment320 might further identify each of the plurality of external audioplayback devices 315′, determine audio characteristics of the identifiedplurality of external audio playback devices 315′, and adjust theretrieved audio parameter settings for each of the audio portion(s) ofthe media content stream or signal that take into account the determinedaudio characteristics of the identified plurality of external audioplayback devices 315′. In some cases, where HDMI cables are used forconnecting the A/V equipment 320 and the display device 310, the audioreturn channel (“ARC”) of the HDMI cable may be used to carry an audioreturn signal back to the A/V equipment 320.

According to some embodiments, the identification of audio playbackdevices, the determination of audio characteristics of the identifiedaudio playback devices, and the adjustment of the audio parametersettings of the audio portion(s) of the media content stream or signalthat take into account the determined audio characteristics of theidentified audio playback devices may also be applicable to the displaydevices 310 that have integrated speakers or the like, as well as towireless audio playback devices (e.g., Bluetooth speakers, WiFispeakers, etc.), or the like.

FIGS. 4A-4D (collectively, “FIG. 4”) are directed to embodiments 400directed to lookup tables and implementing frequency responseadjustments based on the lookup tables. FIG. 4A is a diagramillustrating an exemplary lookup table 405 that may be used forimplementing automatic audio optimization, in accordance with variousembodiments. FIGS. 4B-4D are graphical diagrams illustrating variousexemplary frequency response adjustments 400 that may be used whenimplementing automatic audio optimization, in accordance with variousembodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4A, lookup table 405 might comprise sections directedto individual content, to content categories, and to default settings.Herein, although generic notations are used for the individual content(e.g., movie 1, TV series 1, etc.), in operation, actual titles and/orother identifiers might be used. Likewise, Param1, Param2, etc. in FIG.4A serve only to list generic audio parameters for purposes ofillustration, but, in operation, the specific audio parameters (andperhaps also the parameter settings themselves, or the like) might belisted. Further, in FIG. 4A, the each ellipsis (“ . . . ”) serves as aplaceholder or the like for purposes of illustration, but, in operation,would be replaced by actual titles, identifiers, characteristics, audioparameters, audio parameter settings, or the like, as appropriate.

Turning to FIG. 4A, under the individual content section, for instance,the lookup table 405 might include, but is not limited to, lists ofspecific movies (e.g., movie 1, movie 2, etc.), specific televisionseries (e.g., TV series 1, TV series 2, etc.), specific documentaries(e.g., documentary 1, documentary 2, etc.), concerts (e.g., concert 1,concert 2, etc.), and/or the like. For each individual content (denotedin FIG. 4A by only an ellipsis for simplicity of illustration), audiocharacteristics of the audio portions of the individual content might belisted, either as a whole (or average) or for each particularlyaudio-distinct portion—for instance, a movie might have a set of audiocharacteristics for a car chase scene, another different set of audiocharacteristics for dramatic interaction between two or more characters,yet another different set of audio characteristics for comedic exchangesbetween two or more characters, etc. The corresponding audio parametersfor the specific individual content might be listed either as a singleoverall (e.g., averaged) set of audio parameter settings or as multiplesets of audio parameter settings for each audio-distinct portion of theindividual content (with appropriate timing information for properadjustment of the audio parameter settings).

As described herein, if the specific individual content is not listed inlookup table 405, the database lookup would shift to the contentcategory to which the specific individual content belongs. Under thecontent category section, the lookup table 405 might include lists ofcontent categories including, without limitation, news, talk show,documentary, action, drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, children'sprogramming, pop music, rock music, country music, classical music,instrumental music, and/or the like. For individual content that fallunder either the news category or the talk show category, the audiocharacteristics might include, e.g., enhancing midrange from a fewhundred Hertz to a few kHz, which includes the main frequency range ofthe human voice. This increases speech intelligibility and reducesbackground noises outside the enhanced frequency ranges. For individualcontent that fall under the documentary category, the audiocharacteristics might include, e.g., a neutral audio setting forplayback, realized via a flat or linear frequency response. Forindividual content that fall under the action category, the audiocharacteristics might include, e.g., a setting with enhanced bass andtreble regions to emphasize the type of audio tracks typicallyassociated with such content. Although not shown (except by ellipsis),the other content categories might include corresponding audiocharacteristics or the like. The corresponding audio parameters or audioparameter settings may also be listed in lookup table 405 for eachcontent category.

As described herein, if the specific individual content is not listed inlookup table 405, and if the content category is also not listed inlookup table 405, then default settings and audio parameters (and audioparameter settings) would be applied.

According to some embodiments, the lookup table 405 can be stored inseveral locations: a local lookup table that is stored in thenon-volatile memory of an STB or a media player/media presentationdevice, or the like (if present, this table will be queried first); aremote lookup table that is hosted by an operator or another serviceprovider (this lookup table can essentially be arbitrarily large, asstorage limitations are far less critical in this case compared to alocally stored lookup table); or a hybrid local/remote lookup table,which would provide additional flexibility, as an operator can choose toprovide a combination of both local and remotely hosted lookup tableentries (in this case, the system will first query its local database.The lookup table 405 can also be populated using an Electronic ProgramGuide (“EPG”), or variant thereof. Such EPGs are typically associatedwith Live and Video-on-Demand (“VoD”) systems. According to someembodiments, in addition to show times, titles, and categories, and/orthe like, the EPG could carry additional information needed to configurethe automatic audio optimization system. Such an embodiment would enableaudio optimization per additional content in addition to audiooptimization per content category. If no matching entry is foundlocally, the STB or media presentation device/player will query the maindatabase at the operator's remote facility). The decision regardingwhether and what type of entries to store locally versus remotely maydepend on content popularity. For instance, frequently used entriesmight be stored locally. Depending on demand for popular titles or othercontent items, an operator may choose to push out entries andpre-populate the local database with items (e.g., information and audioparameter settings associated with media content, or the like) that areanticipated to be accessed in the near future. An advanced system canpre-load database entries depending on previously accessed content.Alternatively, or additionally, pre-populating database entriesdepending on demographics is possible as well. A more advanced systemcan dynamically cache entries locally, based on a most frequently usedbasis. For instance, frequently used entries remain in the localdatabase and rarely accessed items (e.g., information and audioparameter settings associated with media content, or the like) getreplaced by more frequently accessed ones. In any case, depending on thedesign of the entire system and the specific user interface, a user maychoose to disable a specific subset of the automatically chosenparameters or may disable the feature entirely, depending on personalpreferences.

With reference to FIGS. 4B-4D, examples of frequency responseadjustments are depicted in the form of graphical illustrations ofamplitude vs. frequency, with FIG. 4B depicting a flat (or linear orneutral) frequency response (for content such as documentaries, or thelike), with FIG. 4C depicting a midrange-enhanced frequency response(for content such as news programs, talk show, or the like), with FIG.4D depicting a bass and treble-enhanced frequency response (for contentsuch as action movies, or the like), and/or the like. In FIGS. 4B-4D,dashed lines 415, 425, and 435 denote the baseline or non-adjusted audiolevels or frequency responses, while solid lines 410, 420, and 430denote the respective adjusted frequency responses.

FIGS. 5A-5D (collectively, “FIG. 5”) are flow diagrams illustrating amethod 500 for implementing automatic audio optimization, in accordancewith various embodiments. Method 500 of FIG. 5A continues onto FIG. 5Bfollowing the circular marker denoted, “A.”

While the techniques and procedures are depicted and/or described in acertain order for purposes of illustration, it should be appreciatedthat certain procedures may be reordered and/or omitted within the scopeof various embodiments. Moreover, while the method 500 illustrated byFIG. 5 can be implemented by or with (and, in some cases, are describedbelow with respect to) the systems 100, 200, 200′, 300, 300′, 300″, and300″ of FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D respectively (or componentsthereof), such methods may also be implemented using any suitablehardware (or software) implementation. Similarly, while each of thesystems 100, 200, 200′, 300, 300′, 300″, and 300″ of FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B,3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D, respectively (or components thereof), can operateaccording to the method 500 illustrated by FIG. 5 (e.g., by executinginstructions embodied on a computer readable medium), the systems 100,200, 200′, 300, 300′, 300″, and 300″ of FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 3C, and3D can each also operate according to other modes of operation and/orperform other suitable procedures.

In the non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 5A, method 500, at block 505,might comprise receiving, with a computing system and from a user, userinput indicating a request for media content for presentation to theuser by a media presentation device. Merely by way of example, in someembodiments, the computing system might include, without limitation, atleast one of a set-top box (“STB”), a television, an Internet protocoltelevision (“IPTV”), a media playback device, a media streaming device,a Blu-ray disc (“BD”) playback device, a digital video disc (“DVD”)playback device, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streamingplatform, a digital video recording (“DVR”) platform, a gaming console,an audio playback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, anaudio on demand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streaming platform, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a display device, a desktopcomputer, a server computer over a network, or a cloud-based computingsystem, and/or the like.

At block 510, method 500 might comprise initiating, with the computingsystem, database lookup in one or more databases for audio parametersettings associated with the requested media content. According to someembodiments, the audio parameter settings might include, but are notlimited to, at least one of frequency response settings, reverbsettings, time domain adjustment settings, settings for phaserelationship between audio channels, or subwoofer cross-over frequencysettings, and/or the like, e.g., to account for multichannel setups orthe like. In some instances, the frequency response settings mightinclude, without limitation, one of a linear frequency response, amidrange-enhanced frequency response, a bass-enhanced frequencyresponse, a treble-enhanced frequency response, or a combinationbase-enhanced and treble-enhanced frequency response, and/or the like.In some cases, the audio parameter settings are listed among a pluralityof audio parameter settings in one or more lookup tables in the one ormore databases. In some embodiments, the one or more lookup tables mightbe at least one of refreshed as part of updates for the mediapresentation device, refreshed using specific pushes to update dedicatedcontent, refreshed on a periodic basis using a scheduling mechanism,refreshed in response to power-up of the media presentation device, orrefreshed in response to a user request by the user to refresh, and/orthe like.

According to some embodiments, the one or more databases might include,but are not limited to, at least one of one or more network-baseddatabases, one or more distributed computing databases, or one or morelocal databases, and/or the like. The one or more local databases mightbe integrated within at least one of a set-top box (“STB”), atelevision, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), a media playbackdevice, a media streaming device, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”) playback device,a digital video disc (“DVD”) playback device, a video on demand (“VoD”)platform, a video streaming platform, a digital video recording (“DVR”)platform, a gaming console, an audio playback device, a compact disc(“CD”) playback device, an audio on demand (“AoD”) platform, an audiostreaming platform, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer,a display device, or a desktop computer, and/or the like.

Method 500 might further comprise determining, with the computingsystem, whether the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content (block515). If so, method 500 might proceed to block 520 in FIG. 5B followingthe circular marker denoted, “A.” If not, method 500 might continue toblock 545 in FIG. 5A.

At block 520, in FIG. 5B, method 500 might comprise determining, withthe computing system, whether the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings specifically for a plurality of portions of therequested media content (i.e., for media content that has multipleaudio-distinct portions, including, but not limited to, dramatic scenes,action scenes, comedic scenes, and/or the like). If not, method 500might proceed continues to block 525. If so, method 500 might proceed toblock 535. At block 525, method 500 might comprise retrieving, with thecomputing system and from the one or more databases, the audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content (as awhole or overall), and automatically reconfiguring, with the computingsystem, one or more audio playback devices with the retrieved audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent (block 530). Alternatively, method 500 might compriseretrieving, with the computing system and from the one or moredatabases, the audio parameter settings specifically for each of theplurality of portions of the requested media content (block 535), andautomatically reconfiguring, with the computing system, one or moreaudio playback devices with the retrieved audio parameter settingsspecifically for each of the plurality of portions of the requestedmedia content when the corresponding portion of the requested mediacontent is being presented to the user by the media presentation device(block 540). For instance, the lookup table (e.g., table 405 of FIG. 4A,or the like) might list audio characteristics consistent with comedicscenes at elapsed times of 20 minutes, 45 minutes, and 1 hour and 4minutes, with dramatic scenes at elapsed times of 32 minutes, and 1 hourand 28 minutes, and with action scenes at elapsed times of 5 minutes, 40minutes, and 1 hour and 15 minutes, or the like. For such a case, thecomputing system might retrieve, from the one or more databases, theaudio parameter settings specifically for each of the comedic scenes,the dramatic scenes, and the actions scenes, and might automaticallyreconfigure the one or more audio playback devices with thecorresponding retrieved audio parameter settings concurrent with thevideo playback for each corresponding scene.

Turning back to FIG. 5A, based on a determination (at block 515) thatthe one or more databases do not contain audio parameter settingsspecifically associated with the requested media content, method 500might comprise, at block 545, determining, with the computing system,whether the one or more databases contain audio parameter settingsassociated with a content category to which the requested media contentbelongs. If so, method 500 might continue to block 550. If not, method500 might skip to block 560. Based on a determination (at block 545)that the one or more databases contain audio parameter settingsassociated with a content category to which the requested media contentbelongs, method 500 might comprise retrieving, with the computing systemand from the one or more databases, the audio parameter settingsassociated with the content category to which the requested mediacontent belongs (block 550), and automatically reconfiguring, with thecomputing system, the one or more audio playback devices with theretrieved audio parameter settings associated with the content categoryto which the requested media content belongs (block 555). According tosome embodiments, the content category might include, withoutlimitation, at least one of news program, talk show, documentaries,action, drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, sports, children'sprogramming, pop music, rock music, country music, techno music, metalmusic, classical music, or instrumental music, and/or the like.

Alternatively, based on a determination (at blocks 515 and 545) that theone or more databases do not contain audio parameter settingsspecifically associated with the requested media content and do notcontain audio parameter settings associated with a content category towhich the requested media content belongs, method 500 might compriseselecting, with the computing system, default audio parameter settings(block 560), and automatically reconfiguring, with the computing system,the one or more audio playback devices with the selected default audioparameter settings (block 565).

With reference to FIG. 5C, automatically reconfiguring, with thecomputing system, one or more audio playback devices with the retrievedaudio parameter settings (corresponding to the processes at any or eachof blocks 530, 540, 555, and 565, or the like) might compriseextracting, with the computing system, one or more audio portions of therequested media content (block 570), adjusting, with the computingsystem, the retrieved audio parameter settings for each of the one ormore audio portions of the requested media content (block 575), andinserting, with the computing system, the resultant one or more audioportions of the requested media content (block 580). According to someembodiments, the one or more audio playback devices might be eitherreconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settings prior topresentation of the requested media content by the media presentationdevice, or reconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settingsconcurrent with presentation of the requested media content by the mediapresentation device. Merely by way of example, the one or more audioplayback devices might include, but are not limited to, at least one ofone or more external speakers, one or more headphones, one or moreearbuds, or one or more integrated speakers, and/or the like. The one ormore integrated speakers might include speakers that are integrated inat least one of a television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”),a media playback device, a media streaming device, a video on demand(“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform, a gaming console, an audioplayback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio ondemand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a display device, or a desktopcomputer, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 5D, adjusting the retrieved audioparameter settings for each of the one or more audio portions of therequested media content (at block 575) might comprise identifying, withthe computing system, the one or more audio playback devices (block585), determining, with the computing system, audio characteristics ofthe identified one or more audio playback devices (block 590), andadjusting, with the computing system, the retrieved audio parametersettings for each of the one or more audio portions of the requestedmedia content that take into account the determined audiocharacteristics of the identified one or more audio playback devices(block 595).

Exemplary System and Hardware Implementation

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer or systemhardware architecture, in accordance with various embodiments. FIG. 6provides a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a computer system600 of the service provider system hardware that can perform the methodsprovided by various other embodiments, as described herein, and/or canperform the functions of computer or hardware system (i.e., computingsystems 105 a, 105 b, and 205, media presentation devices 115, 225, and305, user devices 120, 255, and 310, audio playback devices 125 a-125 n,285, 290, 315, and 315′, audio/video (“A/V”) equipment 320, mediacontent sources (or servers) 135, etc.), as described above. It shouldbe noted that FIG. 6 is meant only to provide a generalized illustrationof various components, of which one or more (or none) of each may beutilized as appropriate. FIG. 6, therefore, broadly illustrates howindividual system elements may be implemented in a relatively separatedor relatively more integrated manner.

The computer or hardware system 600—which might represent an embodimentof the computer or hardware system (i.e., computing systems 105 a, 105b, and 205, media presentation devices 115, 225, and 305, user devices120, 255, and 310, audio playback devices 125 a-125 n, 285, 290, 315,and 315′, audio/video (“A/V”) equipment 320, media content sources (orservers) 135, etc.), described above with respect to FIGS. 1-5—is showncomprising hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus605 (or may otherwise be in communication, as appropriate). The hardwareelements may include one or more processors 610, including, withoutlimitation, one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or morespecial-purpose processors (such as microprocessors, digital signalprocessing chips, graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like);one or more input devices 615, which can include, without limitation, amouse, a keyboard and/or the like; and one or more output devices 620,which can include, without limitation, a display device, a printer,and/or the like.

The computer or hardware system 600 may further include (and/or be incommunication with) one or more storage devices 625, which can comprise,without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage, and/or caninclude, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an opticalstorage device, solid-state storage device such as a random accessmemory (“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices maybe configured to implement any appropriate data stores, including,without limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer or hardware system 600 might also include a communicationssubsystem 630, which can include, without limitation, a modem, a networkcard (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device, a wirelesscommunication device and/or chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, a WiFidevice (IEEE 802.11), a WiMax device (IEEE 802.16), a WWAN device,cellular communication facilities, etc.), and/or the like. Thecommunications subsystem 630 may permit data to be exchanged with anetwork (such as the network described below, to name one example), withother computer or hardware systems, and/or with any other devicesdescribed herein. In many embodiments, the computer or hardware system600 will further comprise a working memory 635, which can include a RAMor ROM device, as described above.

The computer or hardware system 600 also may comprise software elements,shown as being currently located within the working memory 635,including an operating system 640, device drivers, executable libraries,and/or other code, such as one or more application programs 645, whichmay comprise computer programs provided by various embodiments(including, without limitation, hypervisors, VMs, and the like), and/ormay be designed to implement methods, and/or configure systems, providedby other embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, oneor more procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussedabove might be implemented as code and/or instructions executable by acomputer (and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect, then,such code and/or instructions can be used to configure and/or adapt ageneral purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or moreoperations in accordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be encoded and/or storedon a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, such as thestorage device(s) 625 described above. In some cases, the storage mediummight be incorporated within a computer system, such as the system 600.In other embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from acomputer system (i.e., a removable medium, such as a compact disc,etc.), and/or provided in an installation package, such that the storagemedium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a general purposecomputer with the instructions/code stored thereon. These instructionsmight take the form of executable code, which is executable by thecomputer or hardware system 600 and/or might take the form of sourceand/or installable code, which, upon compilation and/or installation onthe computer or hardware system 600 (e.g., using any of a variety ofgenerally available compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware (such as programmable logic controllers,field-programmable gate arrays, application-specific integratedcircuits, and/or the like) might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer or hardware system (such as the computer or hardware system600) to perform methods in accordance with various embodiments of theinvention. According to a set of embodiments, some or all of theprocedures of such methods are performed by the computer or hardwaresystem 600 in response to processor 610 executing one or more sequencesof one or more instructions (which might be incorporated into theoperating system 640 and/or other code, such as an application program645) contained in the working memory 635. Such instructions may be readinto the working memory 635 from another computer readable medium, suchas one or more of the storage device(s) 625. Merely by way of example,execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the workingmemory 635 might cause the processor(s) 610 to perform one or moreprocedures of the methods described herein.

The terms “machine readable medium” and “computer readable medium,” asused herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer or hardware system 600, various computerreadable media might be involved in providing instructions/code toprocessor(s) 610 for execution and/or might be used to store and/orcarry such instructions/code (e.g., as signals). In manyimplementations, a computer readable medium is a non-transitory,physical, and/or tangible storage medium. In some embodiments, acomputer readable medium may take many forms, including, but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, or the like. Non-volatile mediaincludes, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as thestorage device(s) 625. Volatile media includes, without limitation,dynamic memory, such as the working memory 635. In some alternativeembodiments, a computer readable medium may take the form oftransmission media, which includes, without limitation, coaxial cables,copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise the bus605, as well as the various components of the communication subsystem630 (and/or the media by which the communications subsystem 630 providescommunication with other devices). In an alternative set of embodiments,transmission media can also take the form of waves (including withoutlimitation radio, acoustic and/or light waves, such as those generatedduring radio-wave and infra-red data communications).

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patternsof holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chipor cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any othermedium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 610for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer or hardware system 600. Thesesignals, which might be in the form of electromagnetic signals, acousticsignals, optical signals, and/or the like, are all examples of carrierwaves on which instructions can be encoded, in accordance with variousembodiments of the invention.

The communications subsystem 630 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive the signals, and the bus 605 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 635, from which the processor(s) 605 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 635 may optionally be stored on a storage device 625 eitherbefore or after execution by the processor(s) 610.

As noted above, a set of embodiments comprises methods and systems forimplementing media content streaming or playback, and, moreparticularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementingautomatic audio optimization (in some cases, for streaming services, orthe like). FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of a system 700 thatcan be used in accordance with one set of embodiments. The system 700can include one or more user computers, user devices, or customerdevices 705. A user computer, user device, or customer device 705 can bea general purpose personal computer (including, merely by way ofexample, desktop computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, handheldcomputers, and the like, running any appropriate operating system,several of which are available from vendors such as Apple, MicrosoftCorp., and the like), cloud computing devices, a server(s), and/or aworkstation computer(s) running any of a variety ofcommercially-available UNIX™ or UNIX-like operating systems. A usercomputer, user device, or customer device 705 can also have any of avariety of applications, including one or more applications configuredto perform methods provided by various embodiments (as described above,for example), as well as one or more office applications, databaseclient and/or server applications, and/or web browser applications.

Alternatively, a user computer, user device, or customer device 705 canbe any other electronic device, such as a thin-client computer,Internet-enabled mobile telephone, and/or personal digital assistant,capable of communicating via a network (e.g., the network(s) 710described below) and/or of displaying and navigating web pages or othertypes of electronic documents. Although the exemplary system 700 isshown with two user computers, user devices, or customer devices 705,any number of user computers, user devices, or customer devices can besupported.

Certain embodiments operate in a networked environment, which caninclude a network(s) 710. The network(s) 710 can be any type of networkfamiliar to those skilled in the art that can support datacommunications using any of a variety of commercially-available (and/orfree or proprietary) protocols, including, without limitation, TCP/IP,SNA™, IPX™, AppleTalk™, and the like. Merely by way of example, thenetwork(s) 710 (similar to network(s) 145 FIG. 1, or the like) can eachinclude a local area network (“LAN”), including, without limitation, afiber network, an Ethernet network, a Token-Ring™ network and/or thelike; a wide-area network (“WAN”); a wireless wide area network(“WWAN”); a virtual network, such as a virtual private network (“VPN”);the Internet; an intranet; an extranet; a public switched telephonenetwork (“PSTN”); an infra-red network; a wireless network, including,without limitation, a network operating under any of the IEEE 802.11suite of protocols, the Bluetooth™ protocol known in the art, and/or anyother wireless protocol; and/or any combination of these and/or othernetworks. In a particular embodiment, the network might include anaccess network of the service provider (e.g., an Internet serviceprovider (“ISP”)). In another embodiment, the network might include acore network of the service provider, and/or the Internet.

Embodiments can also include one or more server computers 715. Each ofthe server computers 715 may be configured with an operating system,including, without limitation, any of those discussed above, as well asany commercially (or freely) available server operating systems. Each ofthe servers 715 may also be running one or more applications, which canbe configured to provide services to one or more clients 705 and/orother servers 715.

Merely by way of example, one of the servers 715 might be a data server,a web server, a cloud computing device(s), or the like, as describedabove. The data server might include (or be in communication with) a webserver, which can be used, merely by way of example, to process requestsfor web pages or other electronic documents from user computers 705. Theweb server can also run a variety of server applications, including HTTPservers, FTP servers, CGI servers, database servers, Java servers, andthe like. In some embodiments of the invention, the web server may beconfigured to serve web pages that can be operated within a web browseron one or more of the user computers 705 to perform methods of theinvention.

The server computers 715, in some embodiments, might include one or moreapplication servers, which can be configured with one or moreapplications accessible by a client running on one or more of the clientcomputers 705 and/or other servers 715. Merely by way of example, theserver(s) 715 can be one or more general purpose computers capable ofexecuting programs or scripts in response to the user computers 705and/or other servers 715, including, without limitation, webapplications (which might, in some cases, be configured to performmethods provided by various embodiments). Merely by way of example, aweb application can be implemented as one or more scripts or programswritten in any suitable programming language, such as Java™, C, C #™ orC++, and/or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, aswell as combinations of any programming and/or scripting languages. Theapplication server(s) can also include database servers, including,without limitation, those commercially available from Oracle™,Microsoft™, Sybase™, IBM™, and the like, which can process requests fromclients (including, depending on the configuration, dedicated databaseclients, API clients, web browsers, etc.) running on a user computer,user device, or customer device 705 and/or another server 715. In someembodiments, an application server can perform one or more of theprocesses for implementing media content streaming or playback, and,more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementingautomatic audio optimization (in some cases, for streaming services, orthe like), as described in detail above. Data provided by an applicationserver may be formatted as one or more web pages (comprising HTML,JavaScript, etc., for example) and/or may be forwarded to a usercomputer 705 via a web server (as described above, for example).Similarly, a web server might receive web page requests and/or inputdata from a user computer 705 and/or forward the web page requestsand/or input data to an application server. In some cases, a web servermay be integrated with an application server.

In accordance with further embodiments, one or more servers 715 canfunction as a file server and/or can include one or more of the files(e.g., application code, data files, etc.) necessary to implementvarious disclosed methods, incorporated by an application running on auser computer 705 and/or another server 715. Alternatively, as thoseskilled in the art will appreciate, a file server can include allnecessary files, allowing such an application to be invoked remotely bya user computer, user device, or customer device 705 and/or server 715.

It should be noted that the functions described with respect to variousservers herein (e.g., application server, database server, web server,file server, etc.) can be performed by a single server and/or aplurality of specialized servers, depending on implementation-specificneeds and parameters.

In certain embodiments, the system can include one or more databases 720a-720 n (collectively, “databases 720”). The location of each of thedatabases 720 is discretionary: merely by way of example, a database 720a might reside on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) aserver 715 a (and/or a user computer, user device, or customer device705). Alternatively, a database 720 n can be remote from any or all ofthe computers 705, 715, so long as it can be in communication (e.g., viathe network 710) with one or more of these. In a particular set ofembodiments, a database 720 can reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”)familiar to those skilled in the art. (Likewise, any necessary files forperforming the functions attributed to the computers 705, 715 can bestored locally on the respective computer and/or remotely, asappropriate.) In one set of embodiments, the database 720 can be arelational database, such as an Oracle database, that is adapted tostore, update, and retrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands.The database might be controlled and/or maintained by a database server,as described above, for example.

According to some embodiments, system 700 might further comprise acomputing system 725 (similar to computing systems 105 a, 105 b, and 205of FIGS. 1 and 2A, or the like), one or more media presentation devices730 each with display screen 730 a (similar to media presentationdevices 115, 225, and 305 of FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 3A-3D, or the like),an external display screen 730 b (similar to display screens 115 b and245 b of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, or the like), one or more user devices 735each with touchscreen display 735 a (similar to user devices 120, 255,and 310 of FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 3A-3D, or the like), one or more audioplayback devices 740 a-740 n (similar to audio playback devices 125a-125 n, 285, 290, 315, and 315′ of FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 3B-3D, or thelike), one or more media (e.g., video or audio) content sources 745 andcorresponding database(s) 750 (similar to media (e.g., audio or video)content sources (or servers) 135 and corresponding databases 140 of FIG.1, or the like), and/or the like. In some embodiments, the computingsystem might comprise a media device that is communicatively coupled toa playback device(s) (i.e., one or more of media presentation device(s)730, the user device(s) 705 or 735, and/or audio playback device(s) 740a-740 n, or the like). In some cases, the media device might compriseone of a set-top box (“STB”), a media player, a gaming console, a servercomputer, a desktop computer, or a laptop computer, and/or the like. Themedia player might comprise one of a digital versatile disc or digitalvideo disc (“DVD”) player, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”) player, a streamingvideo player, a streaming music player, or a streaming game player,and/or the like, while the playback device might comprise at least oneof one or more monitors, one or more television sets, or one or morespeakers, and/or the like.

In operation, the computing system 725 (and/or the media presentationdevice 730) might receive user input from a user indicating a requestfor media content for presentation to the user by the media presentationdevice 730 or the like. The computing system 725 (and/or mediapresentation device 730) might initiate or perform database lookup inone or more databases 720 a-720 n and/or 750 for audio parametersettings associated with the requested media content. According to someembodiments, the audio parameter settings might include, but are notlimited to, at least one of frequency response settings, reverbsettings, time domain adjustment settings, settings for phaserelationship between audio channels, or subwoofer cross-over frequencysettings, and/or the like, e.g., to account for multichannel setups orthe like. In some instances, the frequency response settings mightinclude, without limitation, one of a linear frequency response, amidrange-enhanced frequency response, a bass-enhanced frequencyresponse, a treble-enhanced frequency response, or a combinationbase-enhanced and treble-enhanced frequency response, and/or the like.In some cases, the audio parameter settings are listed among a pluralityof audio parameter settings in one or more lookup tables in the one ormore databases. In some embodiments, the one or more lookup tables mightbe at least one of refreshed as part of updates for the mediapresentation device 730, refreshed using specific pushes to updatededicated content, refreshed on a periodic basis using a schedulingmechanism, refreshed in response to power-up of the media presentationdevice, or refreshed in response to a user request by the user torefresh, and/or the like.

The computing system 725 (and/or media presentation device 730) mightdetermine whether the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings specifically associated with the requested media content. Basedon a determination that the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent, the computing system 725 (and/or media presentation device 730)might determine whether the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings specifically for a plurality of portions of therequested media content (i.e., for media content that has multipleaudio-distinct portions, including, but not limited to, dramatic scenes,action scenes, comedic scenes, and/or the like). If so, the computingsystem 725 (and/or media presentation device 730) might retrieve, fromthe one or more databases, the audio parameter settings specifically foreach of the plurality of portions of the requested media content, andautomatically reconfigure one or more audio playback devices 740 a-740 nwith the retrieved audio parameter settings specifically for each of theplurality of portions of the requested media content when thecorresponding portion of the requested media content is being presentedto the user by the media presentation device. If not, the computingsystem 725 (and/or media presentation device 730) might retrieve, fromthe one or more databases, the audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content (as a whole or overall), andautomatically reconfigure the one or more audio playback devices 740a-740 n with the retrieved audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content.

Based on a determination that the one or more databases do not containaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content, the computing system 725 (and/or media presentationdevice 730) might determine whether the one or more databases containaudio parameter settings associated with a content category to which therequested media content belongs. Based on a determination that the oneor more databases contain audio parameter settings associated with acontent category to which the requested media content belongs, thecomputing system 725 (and/or media presentation device 730) mightretrieve, from the one or more databases, the audio parameter settingsassociated with the content category to which the requested mediacontent belongs, and automatically reconfigure the one or more audioplayback devices with the retrieved audio parameter settings associatedwith the content category to which the requested media content belongs.According to some embodiments, the content category might include,without limitation, at least one of news program, talk show,documentaries, action, drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, sports,children's programming, pop music, rock music, country music, technomusic, metal music, classical music, or instrumental music, and/or thelike.

Based on a determination that the one or more databases do not containaudio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content and do not contain audio parameter settings associatedwith a content category to which the requested media content belongs,the computing system 725 (and/or media presentation device 730) mightselect default audio parameter settings, and automatically reconfigurethe one or more audio playback devices with the selected default audioparameter settings.

Merely by way of example, in some embodiments, automaticallyreconfiguring one or more audio playback devices 740 a-740 n with theretrieved audio parameter settings might comprise the computing system725 (and/or media presentation device 730) extracting one or more audioportions of the requested media content, adjusting the retrieved audioparameter settings for each of the one or more audio portions of therequested media content, and inserting the resultant one or more audioportions of the requested media content. According to some embodiments,the one or more audio playback devices 740 a-740 n might be eitherreconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settings prior topresentation of the requested media content by the media presentationdevice 730, or reconfigured with the retrieved audio parameter settingsconcurrent with presentation of the requested media content by the mediapresentation device 730. In some embodiments, adjusting the retrievedaudio parameter settings for each of the one or more audio portions ofthe requested media content might comprise the computing system 725(and/or media presentation device 730) identifying the one or more audioplayback devices, determining audio characteristics of the identifiedone or more audio playback devices 740 a-740 n, and adjusting theretrieved audio parameter settings for each of the one or more audioportions of the requested media content that take into account thedetermined audio characteristics of the identified one or more audioplayback devices 740 a-740 n.

These and other functions of the system 700 (and its components) aredescribed in greater detail above with respect to FIGS. 1-5.

While certain features and aspects have been described with respect toexemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize thatnumerous modifications are possible. For example, the methods andprocesses described herein may be implemented using hardware components,software components, and/or any combination thereof. Further, whilevarious methods and processes described herein may be described withrespect to particular structural and/or functional components for easeof description, methods provided by various embodiments are not limitedto any particular structural and/or functional architecture but insteadcan be implemented on any suitable hardware, firmware and/or softwareconfiguration. Similarly, while certain functionality is ascribed tocertain system components, unless the context dictates otherwise, thisfunctionality can be distributed among various other system componentsin accordance with the several embodiments.

Moreover, while the procedures of the methods and processes describedherein are described in a particular order for ease of description,unless the context dictates otherwise, various procedures may bereordered, added, and/or omitted in accordance with various embodiments.Moreover, the procedures described with respect to one method or processmay be incorporated within other described methods or processes;likewise, system components described according to a particularstructural architecture and/or with respect to one system may beorganized in alternative structural architectures and/or incorporatedwithin other described systems. Hence, while various embodiments aredescribed with—or without—certain features for ease of description andto illustrate exemplary aspects of those embodiments, the variouscomponents and/or features described herein with respect to a particularembodiment can be substituted, added and/or subtracted from among otherdescribed embodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise.Consequently, although several exemplary embodiments are describedabove, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to coverall modifications and equivalents within the scope of the followingclaims.

1. A method, comprising: receiving, with a computing system and from auser, user input indicating a request for media content for presentationto the user by a media presentation device; initiating, with thecomputing system, database lookup in one or more databases for audioparameter settings associated with the requested media content;determining, with the computing system, whether the one or moredatabases contain audio parameter settings specifically associated withthe requested media content; based on a determination that the one ormore databases contain audio parameter settings specifically associatedwith the requested media content, retrieving, with the computing systemand from the one or more databases, the audio parameter settingsspecifically associated with the requested media content, andautomatically reconfiguring, with the computing system, one or moreaudio playback devices with the retrieved audio parameter settingsspecifically associated with the requested media content; and based on adetermination that the one or more databases do not contain audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent, determining, with the computing system, whether the one or moredatabases contain audio parameter settings associated with a contentcategory to which the requested media content belongs.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: based on a determination that the one ormore databases do not contain audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content, determining, with thecomputing system, whether the one or more databases contain audioparameter settings associated with a content category to which therequested media content belongs.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: based on a determination that the one or more databases donot contain audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content and do not contain audio parameter settingsassociated with a content category to which the requested media contentbelongs, selecting, with the computing system, default audio parametersettings, and automatically reconfiguring, with the computing system,the one or more audio playback devices with the selected default audioparameter settings.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the contentcategory comprises at least one of news program, talk show,documentaries, action, drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, sports,children's programming, pop music, rock music, country music, technomusic, metal music, classical music, or instrumental music.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein determining whether the one or more databasescontain audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content comprises determining, with the computingsystem, whether the one or more databases contain audio parametersettings specifically for a plurality of portions of the requested mediacontent, wherein retrieving the audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content and automaticallyreconfiguring the one or more audio playback devices with the retrievedaudio parameter settings comprise: based on a determination that the oneor more databases contain audio parameter settings specifically for aplurality of portions of the requested media content, retrieving, withthe computing system and from the one or more databases, the audioparameter settings specifically for each of the plurality of portions ofthe requested media content, and automatically reconfiguring, with thecomputing system, the one or more audio playback devices with theretrieved audio parameter settings for each portion of the plurality ofportions of the requested media content when the corresponding portionof the requested media content is being presented to the user by themedia presentation device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one ormore audio playback devices are one of reconfigured with the retrievedaudio parameter settings prior to presentation of the requested mediacontent by the media presentation device, or reconfigured with theretrieved audio parameter settings concurrent with presentation of therequested media content by the media presentation device.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the one or more audio playback devices comprise atleast one of one or more external speakers, one or more headphones, oneor more earbuds, or one or more integrated speakers, wherein the one ormore integrated speakers comprise speakers that are integrated in atleast one of a television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), amedia playback device, a media streaming device, a video on demand(“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform, a gaming console, an audioplayback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio ondemand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a display device, or a desktopcomputer.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing systemcomprises at least one of a set-top box (“STB”), a television, anInternet protocol television (“IPTV”), a media playback device, a mediastreaming device, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”) playback device, a digital videodisc (“DVD”) playback device, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, avideo streaming platform, a digital video recording (“DVR”) platform, agaming console, an audio playback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playbackdevice, an audio on demand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streamingplatform, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a displaydevice, a desktop computer, a server computer over a network, or acloud-based computing system.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein theaudio parameter settings comprise at least one of frequency responsesettings, reverb settings, time domain adjustment settings, settings forphase relationship between audio channels, or subwoofer cross-overfrequency settings.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the frequencyresponse settings comprise one of a linear frequency response, amidrange-enhanced frequency response, a bass-enhanced frequencyresponse, a treble-enhanced frequency response, or a combinationbase-enhanced and treble-enhanced frequency response.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the audio parameter settings are listed among aplurality of audio parameter settings in one or more lookup tables inthe one or more databases.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the oneor more lookup tables are at least one of refreshed as part of updatesfor the media presentation device, refreshed using specific pushes toupdate dedicated content, refreshed on a periodic basis using ascheduling mechanism, refreshed in response to power-up of the mediapresentation device, or refreshed in response to a user request by theuser to refresh.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or moredatabases comprise at least one of one or more network-based databases,one or more distributed computing databases, or one or more localdatabases, wherein the one or more local databases are integrated withinat least one of a set-top box (“STB”), a television, an Internetprotocol television (“IPTV”), a media playback device, a media streamingdevice, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”) playback device, a digital video disc(“DVD”) playback device, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, a videostreaming platform, a digital video recording (“DVR”) platform, a gamingconsole, an audio playback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playbackdevice, an audio on demand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streamingplatform, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a displaydevice, or a desktop computer.
 14. The method of claim 1, whereinautomatically reconfiguring the one or more audio playback devices withthe retrieved audio parameter settings comprises: extracting, with thecomputing system, one or more audio portions of the requested mediacontent; adjusting, with the computing system, the retrieved audioparameter settings for each of the one or more audio portions of therequested media content; and inserting, with the computing system, theresultant one or more audio portions of the requested media content. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein adjusting the retrieved audio parametersettings for each of the one or more audio portions of the requestedmedia content comprises: identifying, with the computing system, the oneor more audio playback devices; determining, with the computing system,audio characteristics of the identified one or more audio playbackdevices; and adjusting, with the computing system, the retrieved audioparameter settings for each of the one or more audio portions of therequested media content that take into account the determined audiocharacteristics of the identified one or more audio playback devices.16. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and anon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one processor, the non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer software comprising a set of instructionsthat, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatusto: receive, from a user, user input indicating a request for mediacontent for presentation to the user by a media presentation device;initiate database lookup in one or more databases for audio parametersettings associated with the requested media content; determine whetherthe one or more databases contain audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content; based on a determinationthat the one or more databases contain audio parameter settingsspecifically associated with the requested media content, retrieve, fromthe one or more databases, the audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content, and automaticallyreconfigure one or more audio playback devices with the retrieved audioparameter settings specifically associated with the requested mediacontent; and based on a determination that the one or more databases donot contain audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content, determine whether the one or more databasescontain audio parameter settings associated with a content category towhich the requested media content belongs.
 17. The apparatus of claim16, wherein the set of instructions, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, further causes the apparatus to: based on a determinationthat the one or more databases contain audio parameter settingsassociated with a content category to which the requested media contentbelongs, retrieve, from the one or more databases, the audio parametersettings associated with the content category to which the requestedmedia content belongs, and automatically reconfigure the one or moreaudio playback devices with the retrieved audio parameter settingsassociated with the content category to which the requested mediacontent belongs.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the set ofinstructions, when executed by the at least one processor, furthercauses the apparatus to: based on a determination that the one or moredatabases do not contain audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content and do not contain audioparameter settings associated with a content category to which therequested media content belongs, select default audio parametersettings, and automatically reconfigure the one or more audio playbackdevices with the selected default audio parameter settings.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of aset-top box (“STB”), a television, an Internet protocol television(“IPTV”), a media playback device, a media streaming device, a Blu-raydisc (“BD”) playback device, a digital video disc (“DVD”) playbackdevice, a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform,a digital video recording (“DVR”) platform, a gaming console, an audioplayback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio ondemand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a display device, a desktopcomputer, a server computer over a network, or a cloud-based computingsystem.
 20. A system, comprising: a computing system, comprising: atleast one first processor; and a first non-transitory computer readablemedium communicatively coupled to the at least one first processor, thefirst non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereoncomputer software comprising a first set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one first processor, causes the computingsystem to: receive, from a user, user input indicating a request formedia content for presentation to the user; initiate database lookup inone or more databases for audio parameter settings associated with therequested media content; determine whether the one or more databasescontain audio parameter settings specifically associated with therequested media content; based on a determination that the one or moredatabases contain audio parameter settings specifically associated withthe requested media content, retrieve, from the one or more databases,the audio parameter settings specifically associated with the requestedmedia content, and automatically reconfigure one or more audio playbackdevices with the retrieved audio parameter settings specificallyassociated with the requested media content; based on a determinationthat the one or more databases do not contain audio parameter settingsspecifically associated with the requested media content, determinewhether the one or more databases contain audio parameter settingsassociated with a content category to which the requested media contentbelongs; and send the requested media content and the audio parametersettings to a media presentation system; the media presentation system,comprising: at least one second processor; and a second non-transitorycomputer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least onesecond processor, the second non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored thereon computer software comprising a second set ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one second processor,causes the media presentation system to: receive the requested mediacontent and the audio parameter settings; present the requested mediacontent to the user; and send audio content corresponding to therequested media content and the audio parameter settings to the one ormore audio playback devices; and the one or more audio playback devices,each comprising: at least one third processor; and a thirdnon-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to theat least one third processor, the third non-transitory computer readablemedium having stored thereon computer software comprising a third set ofinstructions that, when executed by the at least one third processor,causes each audio playback device to: receive the audio contentcorresponding to the requested media content and the audio parametersettings; and present the audio content corresponding to the requestedmedia content, as adjusted by the audio parameter settings.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein the computing system and the mediapresentation device are embodied in the same device.
 22. The system ofclaim 20, wherein the media presentation device comprises at least oneof the one or more audio playback devices.
 23. The system of claim 20,wherein the computing system comprises at least one of a set-top box(“STB”), a television, an Internet protocol television (“IPTV”), a mediaplayback device, a media streaming device, a Blu-ray disc (“BD”)playback device, a digital video disc (“DVD”) playback device, a videoon demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform, a digital videorecording (“DVR”) platform, a gaming console, an audio playback device,a compact disc (“CD”) playback device, an audio on demand (“AoD”)platform, an audio streaming platform, a smart phone, a tablet computer,a laptop computer, a display device, a desktop computer, a servercomputer over a network, or a cloud-based computing system.
 24. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein the one or more audio playback devicescomprise at least one of one or more external speakers, one or moreheadphones, one or more earbuds, or one or more integrated speakers,wherein the one or more integrated speakers comprise speakers that areintegrated in at least one of a television, an Internet protocoltelevision (“IPTV”), a media playback device, a media streaming device,a video on demand (“VoD”) platform, a video streaming platform, a gamingconsole, an audio playback device, a compact disc (“CD”) playbackdevice, an audio on demand (“AoD”) platform, an audio streamingplatform, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a displaydevice, or a desktop computer.